Just a Phase
by EclipseWindstorm
Summary: Pinedrift, a small town near Breckenridge, has a huge dome appear in it. Kids under 15 must fight to survive inside the dome. Kids will develop powers and contend against hunger, thirst, and sickness. Their greatest enemies will try to prevent them from surviving, and an evil force will try to kill them all. DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Gone series; Michael Grant does.
1. About

This is another of those FAYZ stories. This one will have about 200 kids in it, not many of which will have roles.

Everyone over 14 disappears, and the kids have to survive.

This takes place in the mountain town of Pinedrift, Colorado. Located between two mountains at 8000 feet, Pinedrift's 1000 residents are close to the larger town of Breckenridge (just outside the dome). Pinedrift has a grocery store, a large Sam's Club that serves Breckenridge is also there.

A small school (K-12) serves the Pinedrift children. In addition to that. a larger retreat for kids with problems is near that, with kids spending three months there. Pinedrift has about 500 houses and a mobile home park.

Note: I know that there isn't really a location for Pinedrift. I just chose a random place and went with it. Please don't hate based on the unrealistic place. Thanks.


	2. Prologue

His breath clouded in the frosty air. He glanced at his watch. Still an hour on his shift. He wanted them to cancel it all. Someone would drop dead soon. That was for certain.

He descended the rusty iron ladder into the main site. His only job was to supervise the meteor with a few others. As far as why, that was above his pay grade.

"Hey, Jamal. How ya doin?" his friend, Jason, asked.

"Cold."

"I know. They should cancel the watch. It's just some dumb rock."

"I dare you to kick it."

"Sure." Jason walked up to the meteor. His toe connected to the meteor. His clothes, a dirty gray parka and black gloves, seemed to blur and fade for a second. Then Jamal disappeared, with the rest of the adults.


	3. Chapter One

Alex saw the man disappear.

There.

Then gone.

No "poof". No flash of light.

Just gone.

"Hey, where'd the teacher go?" Timmy Caldwell, a small boy with a tendency to speak his mind, asked.

"I don't know, Timmy. Shut up," Dan Petersdal, a larger boy with a brown buzz cut and a class bully, snapped.

"Just sayin'" Timmy muttered, scowling. Timmy had longer black hair and brown eyes. He was frail in build, but surprisingly resistant against bullies.

"What should we do?" Brenda asked. She had somehow gotten up to the front of the classroom.

"I think it's like the Perdido Beach thing," Olivia, who was one of the smarter kids in the class, and ridiculed for knowing the answer to some of questions teachers threw in there to stump kids, added.

"But didn't, like, everyone die in the end of that?" Connor Horman voiced, concerned.

"Not everyone. More than half survived."

"I don't like my odds," he persisted.

"Me neither, Connor," another kid who I couldn't identify said. "But we'll be fine," he hastily added, seeing the look on Connor's face."

"Real comfort, Zane."

The discussion was interrupted by the intercon crackling to life. So, Alex thought, Guess some kid figured out how to use it.

"Can everyone please come to the auditorium? We'll figure out a plan. Older kids, take the younger ones." It was a distorted boy's voice.

"Hey, Alex, d'ya know who that is?" Nova Marinot, Alex's best friend, asked Alex.

"No. Some random eighth grader who wants to be a dictator of the Colorado FAYZ, odds are. Not an adult."

"Yeah, probably. Wish it was an adult, though."

"Or this was just a normal Friday."

A few kids lined up in a line, like they would to go to an assembly. Slowly, the rest of the group of sixth graders joined them. Alex and Nova were among the last.

"Um, guys, who's gonna lead?" Timmy asked.

"Me, wimp," Dan replied. "Don't worry, Timmy, I'll keep you safe."

Timmy flushed red, but remained silent. Dan pushed open the door.

The hallways were loud and full of kids. A class of fourth graders led by an eighth were the only others in a line that Alex could see. And even then, half the class and left it. Kids were hurrying to the auditorium or back the other way, to the door and their houses.

A few first graders were there, in the older kids' wing, screaming. "Mommy!" a kinder wailed.

The slow procession arrived in the auditorium. It was full of kids in various stages of panic.

An eighth grader was on the stage.

"Hello, everyone," he began. "Well, a lot has happened…"

That was, Alex thought, the understatement of the century.

All in all, Red View had some serious curb appeal. It appeared to be a small log cabin, but most of the facility was built into the mountain. The windows were darkly painted, with one-way glass. Red View had a sign hanging from it, made of tarnished metal. It read Red View Resort: A Home for Troubled Youth.

The car pulled up alongside the school, and I was pushed out by my five year old brother, Louis.

"Have fun in prison, Carium," he said, cackling evilly for the millionth time.

"It's not prison, Louis," Mom said, for the millionth time.

"Out you go, Carium," Dad urged. I stepped out of the car. I wanted to say that it was Pierce who put that gun in my hands and shoved me into the class. I wanted to say that it wasn't me.

Instead, I said my goodbyes and walked into Red View.

"Hello, Carium," the Guidance Counselor said. "My name is Mary, and I'll be helping you get back on track. Now, you might have done some bad things, but you aren't a criminal in here."

"Okay."

"Now, let's just go in here and talk."

"Okay."

The counselor leads me into a small room. There are pictures of happy children on the walls. The place makes me want to puke on the happiness.

"Now, Carium, have you had any suicidal feelings over the past thirty pays?"

"No, Ma'am."

"What about feeling that you want to kill or torture someone?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Why did you bring the gun to school?"

"I don't know, Ma'am."

"Carium, you must have had some reason. I can help you, but I can't do it unless I know what your problem is."

"I don't know, though."

"Carium, what happened in your outside life?"

"Nothing special."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't know."

"Carium, please. The truth."

"You want the truth? You should be talking to Pierce Jones. Not me. He shoved me it that room and threw the gun in. He did some disappearing act, showed up a few minutes later with me being expelled. Don't know why he did it. You happy."

"Please don't deny, Carium. Acceptance is the first step to-"

"Accept it yourself! You screwed up! I'm not a screwed up kid like you want!"

"Carium, please, ke-" she disappeared. Poof.

I had heard about Perdido Beach. My mind immediately went there. Half the kids died.

I pushed open the door. Nobody else was there. Then another new kid opened the door next to me.

"My name is Emma Pearson. I'm fourteen. Where's your assistant?"

I shrugged. "Gone."

"Same. Who are you?"

"Carium. I'm thirteen."

"What did you do?"

"Felony."

"Ooh. What?"

"Firearm. Some kid slid a gun in the classroom next to where I was sitting, and then it got ugly. My next felony will be assault, though, if I ever see Pierce again."

"Nice plan. What should we do?"

"I don't know. Wait for someone who does, that's my plan."

"What if nobody does?"

"I don't know, Emma. I don't know."

"Sweetie, you need to follow me," Dakota would never call himself good with kids. Passable was a strong word. But he was coaxing a little girl out of her room anyway. Or at least trying to.

The seventh grader was out of his element. Very. But when a girl ordered him to get them, he'd done it. Partly because he was relieved she had a plan. Partly because it had to be done. And partly because the girl was a little attractive.

"I want Mommy."

Dakota sighed. "I'll help you stay safe until she comes."

"No! Mommy told me to not talk to strangers."

"Okay. Just sit tight for a minute."

The girl was silent. Dakota walked over to the next house and Brian.

"Hey, Brian, you good at this?"

"Yeah, D-Man, passable."

"Try mine. House behind this one."

"Okay. But you're doing this one."

"Okay."

An hour later, Dakota had not persuaded a single kid to come. And he was scared.

Would he starve to death? Die of thirst? Be murdered? Dakota only knew one thing.

Nothing good would come of this. Or at least, not to him.


	4. Chapter Two

At first, Kara didn't even know when all of the adults disappeared. She was clueless to the whole thing. She was in Red View, lower area. Red View was basically an alternative to prison. Judges would accept a term of it instead of 3 months in prison.

The lower level was laid out like a prison. Kids lived four in a cell. The cells had four single beds, an enclosed bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower, a wardrobe with a few changes of clothes for each kid, and a TV and couch. All in all, it could be worse. Then again, Kara thought as she idly looked at the TV, It could be a lot better.

One of Kara's cellmates was taken out for individual counseling. It was off hours for the school for 7th graders, which Kara and her cellmates were. One of them, a sporty girl named Jasmine, was eagerly waiting for their hour-long turn in the outdoor rec area. It would start in 20 minutes. The other, Elizabeth, doodled absently in a notebook.

Kara's first knowledge of what had happened was when the TV cut out abruptly and turned to static. She glanced at Elizabeth and Jasmine, who continued what they were doing. Then Kara grabbed the remote and started trying other channels. Nothing on any of them.

Kara got up and checked the cables, but they weren't out of place. She sighed and wished Mikayla, the missing cellmate,was there.

Kara pushed past Jasmine and, out of curiosity more than anything, pushed it. The door's lock held fast. Jasmine looked at her, startled.

"I was just seeing if power had shorted out," she said innocently.

"Kara, fine. Just don't try anything when we're in here. I don't want Outdoor Rec to be taken away."

Typical of Jasmine, think of sports first, Kara thought. She decided to just wait for the adults to come tell them what had happened.

After five minutes, though, Kara was bored. She'd always been a restless kid. Elizabeth glanced up at her.

"TV broke?" she asked.

"Yep. Cell door still locked, though."

"It'll be our turn in five minutes or so. Guard will take us out, then."

"No, Elizabeth, supervisor, according to the material."

"Guard. In all but name."

"Yeah."

Five minutes later, no guard or supervisor came. Jasmine was worried.

"Maybe we lost Outdoor Rec?"

"They'll come, Jasmine," Elizabeth reassured her. Kara wasn't too sure.

Five minutes after that, Jasmine tried to shove the door open. Once again, nothing happened. She glanced at Kara for a minute after that, who tried to conceal a smile and failed.

"Don't think about it, Kara. You try it, we're doomed."

"We? Why not just me?"

"We witnessed it, didn't we?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Don't, Kara. Don't."

Ten minutes after that, Jasmine was in a state of distress. Elizabeth was the first to notice the tears running down Jasmine's dark cheeks.

"What's wrong, Jasmine?" she asked.

"I'm just- well, I just want to be out there!"

"I know. So do I."

This, Kara thought, was the lie of the century. Elizabeth dreaded Outdoor Rec. She was an artist at heart, but the outdoors was new and frightening to her.

Jasmine shoved at the door again, in vain. This time, she refused to even notice that there were three people in the room. In the middle of her pushing, the door swung open. But it wasn't a guard.

It was Mikayla.

"I thought you guys would be gone by now," she said.

"Long session?" Elizabeth asked, slightly curious.

"No. The guy just… disappeared, so I looked for him. Then others. The kitchen and all was empty, too, so I raided the dessert stash," she said, smiling proudly.

"It was?" Elizabeth confirmed.

"Yeah."

"Weird."

"Hey, the TV's out, too, right, Kara?"

"Yeah."

"We can't get out, you know."

Mikayla glanced at me, then asked a simple question. "Why?"

"It's locked."

"So? Just have Kara do her… you know."

"No way. We could get in trouble."

"You guys ever heard of the Perdido Beach Anomaly?"

"Yeah. Why, Kara?"

"Well, TV and stuff shorted out, and all of the adults disappeared."

"So?"

"So, think about what happened."

"No. If that happened, we'd starve to death."

With that ominous statement, the two of them fell silent and went back to drawing and dribbling a soccer ball around the crowded confines. Mikayla grabbed the TV remote and turned off the static.

"What's their problem?" Kara asked. "They act like I want to kill them."

Mikayla just shrugged. "I don't know. Give them a day, and their stomachs will lead them to reason."

"Yeah, but what if they don't let me anyways, or what if I screw up?"

"You won't," Mikayla said. But Kara could tell that she didn't even believe that.

"How long can we survive?" Sadie asked. Phoenix shrugged.

"I don't know. How many people even live here?"

"Now? Me. You. Jade. Maybe a few townies."

"Well, we have food for ten people and ten years. So about 15 or 20 years, maybe? Heck, three of us could ditch this whole mess and go live somewhere else."

"No. We have to help."

"Yeah. The five bar wants to be the big hero."

Phoenix was uncomfortable. The taunt had been a gamble, insulting a five-bar. But it was true. Sadie wanted to help other people. Bleh. Phoenix just wanted to survive.

"No, I don't."

"Yeah. You do. I just want to make it out of here."

"How, though?"

"Don't know. Lay low, maybe."

Their discussion was interrupted by Jade appearing in the middle of the room.

"Hi, guys," she said. "The townies are having a meeting in the square. Few eighth graders are taking charge. They say that food rations start tomorrow and that they're gonna start doin' work crews. The older kids were just rolling their eyes and stuff. Don't think anyone's going to listen. Only notable thing is they said it was Perdido all over again and asked all freaks to stay later. Weird, if you ask me."

"Yeah. Weird. Did they say why?" Sadie asked.

"If they did, I didn't catch it.

"What about Red View?"

"Probably locked in their cells, unless any of them are freaks that could get them open. The upper levels, probably confused."

"Go check."

"Why, Sadie?"

"We need to know."

"Why not ask Phoenix what she thinks?"

"She'll agree with me."

"Sadie, when are you going to learn to actually ask me? Jade should wait until tomorrow to see where things are so that there aren't kids with powers on the lower level breaking out or anything. And no, Sadie, you can';t make her. Yes, I know that you're the Almighty Five Bar, but Jade's faster than you. And with an alternate dimension to boot."

"Who's the ruler, anyways?" Sadie asked, seeming distracted.

"Eighth graders."

"No, of us."

"Sadie, do we really need a ruler? There are three of us," Phoenix pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess."

Jade disappeared again, leaving Phoenix wishing she could, too, and leave the five bar trying to save the world alone.

Carium descended the stairs, not sure where they led and hoping it was to some adults. He saw three doors leading off of the large, circular room he entered. The room and doors were done in the same ridiculously cheery style as upstairs, with cute wallpaper, soft carpeted floor, and white doors with, gasp, white signs. In soft yellow lettering, they led Carium to Rooms, School, and Counseling and Staff.

Carium hesitated. That wasn't what he was expecting. Then he opened Counseling and Staff, hoping to find some of the latter.

The contrast was shocking to Carium. The halls were white, and the doors were wooden, with small signs on them made of stainless steel. Carium saw counseling rooms first, then some push doors with a Staff Only label on them.

He pushed them open, and they swung away. The other side was just as empty and blank. He saw offices and break rooms. One door e=seemed to entice Carium. It read 'Files'. Wondering whether file would be in there. Carium opened it. It contained a cup of coffee, a half-eaten bagel, a desk and chair, and a bunch of filing cabinets. The bagel lay on the chair crookedly, like the man had disappeared, too.

Carium looked at the cabinets until he found the 2013- A-E one. He slid it open and found his file. It was slim compared to most of them. Just some information on him and the gun and a few suggested motives. They were all wrong.

Carium sighed. He wasn't sure what he had wanted, but this wasn't it. Just an inaccurate report. No good stuff or anything.

Carium left the room and entered the large entry. He tried Rooms next, not liking the sound or potential learning of School. He saw a hall done up in the same style as Counseling and Staff, but with thicker iron doors. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of kids lived there.

Carium chose a random door and pressed his ear to it. Girls chattering met his ear. Carium took a deep breath and pulled the door open. He saw a few girls, single beds, a turned-off TV and couch, and a wardrobe. A door led to the bathroom.

A girl met Carium's eyes and screamed.


	5. Chapter Three

"Don't close the door!" Elizabeth yelled. Kara sighed as it shut. Trapped again.  
The boy looked up. "Why?"  
"You bozo, we're locked in again!" Jasmine yelled. "Do you have any food?" she asked.  
"No. Do you?" the boy asked.  
"Out there."  
"Good to know." Man, Kara thought, does this boy really want to do this? Jasmine was in charge of their group of five by unspoken kinda-agreement.  
"You a freak?" Jasmine asked. The boy seemed confused.  
"Huh? Who are you?" the boy asked.  
"I'm Jasmine. That's Elizabeth, that's Kara, and that's Mikayla. Kara and Mikayla are freaks, but don't let them use their powers."  
"Freaks? Powers?"  
"Kara, will you fill him in?" Jasmine asked. Kara was reluctant, but she agreed.  
"What's your name?" she asked.  
"Carium."  
"Weird name."  
Carium shrugged. "It's mine, but, yeah."  
"Kara, that wasn't very thoughtful!" Elizabeth scolded.  
"I don't care, Elizabeth!" Kara snapped.  
"Geez, snappy," Elizabeth muttered.  
"I'm hungry," Jasmine complained, but only halfheartedly, since she knew how to get out of being hungry.  
"Well, you know what to do about it, so stop complaining," Mikayla snapped. The new kid half-raised his hand, like he was in school.  
"Um, what can you do about it?" he asked.  
"Nothing, Carium," Elizabeth said, sounding tired and run-down.  
Kara's stomach grumbled, and she bit down the urge to yell at them all, tell them they'd starve to death. Which they might. The new kid, Carium, had to be crazy for going into their cell.  
Just then, he spoke up. "I'm not crazy, you know," he said, like he had read Kara's mind. Only Mikayla and Kara could hear.  
"I know," Mikayla said. She glanced at Kara.  
"Hey, Bright Hands, you got a plan?" she asked. Kara sighed. She thought that nickname had worn off. Unfortunately, she seemed to not be able to come up with a comeback. Shadow Girl? No, pathetic.  
"Sometimes I wonder if you chose your power just so I couldn't think of a comeback," Kara said. Mikayla looked up.  
"No, anyone else could think of one. You're the only one stupid enough not to."  
"Right, and you're the queen of England."  
Carium interrupted the argument. "Excuse me, but would someone please inform me what the hell you guys are talking about?"  
Mikayla and Kara exchanged glances.  
"Not me!" Mikayla exclaimed.  
"Hey, um, insert comeback here, how is that fair? Remember, I'm too stupid to come up with a comeback," Kara protested.  
"Too bad for you," Mikayla said.  
Kara sighed and turned to Carium.  
"Some people here have gotten these weird superpower thingies. Me and Mikayla are some of those people." She turned back to Mikayla without waiting to see Carium's response.  
"Happy now?" she snapped.  
"No. Mainly because I'll be starving tomorrow, and nobody has made plans to let me eat."  
"Hey, let Jasmine have her way, and we'd starve to death while dribbling a soccer ball," Kara pointed out. Carium winced.  
"Is she really that addicted?" he asked.  
"Yep. 110% as bad as you think. Guaranteed!" Kara confirmed. Carium laughed.  
"Why are you in prison?" Carium asked, timid.  
"My brother tried to kill my dad, so I swung a baseball bat at his head to save my dad's freaking life and it's like I did something wrong and the court wanted him to die!" Kara took a deep breath at the end of that.  
"Sorry," she apoligized.  
"It's fine. I'm here because some kid nemed Pierce slid a gun in after me in the classroom andf I was blamed since I was last in. I arrived here today, upper level."  
"Upper. Meaning, you get counselors to examine you and act like they can read minds and you're a disturbed three year old. Lower means you're pretty much in jail."  
"Okay," Carium said.  
"I'm hungry," Elizabeth moaned. Kara paused and shot her a death look. Really, moron, you say no to us getting food, and then you complain like a baby, Kara thought. Seething, she turned back to face Carium.  
"Same here," he muttered, quiet enough that Kara could barely hear him.  
"We all are," Kara said. "They just don't want us to eat."  
"But why would they want us to die?" Carium asked.  
Why would they? A thousand reasons swirled through Kara's head. Eventually, she settled on one that summed it up.  
"Because they're afraid."

Alex was sitting in her house when it was destroyed. The house and everything in it was thrown backwards. Alex was in the sunroom, which was barely affected, so she was fine. But the house was totaled. Alex opened the door, and she saw a short, fat teenager running away. That wasn't her main problem, though.  
Her house was wreckage. The living room the sunroom was off of was destroyed, so Alex picked her way out of the mess to the side. She remembered the Dictators had said that you had to eat your house's food for another week while they sorted out the rest of the mess. Well, her house was out of food.  
Nova had vanished with the rest of the "freaks" to some place called Camp Mutant. Named by Nova and her friend Sage. Who was also a mutant.  
Frustrated, Alex kicked at a timber. Not only did she have no friends or food, but it hadn't taken very long in Perdido Beach for terrifying mutant animals to develop, and Alex figured it would happen again. Very soon.  
She wondered about the Red View kids. Were they dead? Alive? Hungry? Full? Were they freaks. Alex figured that they had it easier than she did. Sure, they were all crazies, but at least they were crazies who didn't have any little kids or dictators.  
Alex didn't have anything, but telling the dictators would be a bad idea. They'd just tell her to be more careful next time.  
Sirens suddenly interrupted Alex combing through the wreckage, looking for the small wall safe that had held guns, ammo, jewelry, and an old stuffed cat from when Alex was young. Her cat had gone to the vet in Breckenridge with her parents, but the stuffed cat hadn't been so lucky.  
Alex jerked her head up and saw a fire truck driving down the street. A kid was driving it crookedly down the street, but he was too young to be a dictator. He was only eleven or twelve, and they were all fourteen with a few thirteen-year-old servants,  
The truck was moving slowly down Alex's street, towards Red View Road and the town school.  
Alex had a crazy idea then. She chased down the truck on her skateboard, which was easy since it was only going ten miles an hour. Then she grabbed a small handle on the back and put her feet on a railing. The truck trundled on unknowingly, continuing its erratic course.  
The truck passed the school and continued up Red View Road. Alex's skateboard was left far behind as the truck reached the kid asylum. Alex could hear screams inside and wondered how many of the kids in there were sadists.  
The truck stopped and the kid got out. He was small, but must have been thirteen or so. His hair was almost white, and his skin was pale. He seemed terrified.  
He entered the school from the main double doors, and Alex took that as her cue to jump off the truck's back and follow him in.  
The lobby was empty. Alex saw signs to downstairs, bunkhouses, counseling, and classes. No to kitchen, but Alex figured that would be downstairs and opened that door. The stairs were solid and carpeted, with happy pictures and sayings lining the walls.  
She arrived in a room with the same decor. Signs offered To Rooms, School, and Staff. She opened the Rooms door. There were kids' voices yelling Help! and We're Trapped! The doors were thick iron, and the floor and walls were stark white. A set of double doors and a To Kitchen sign waited at the end of the hall. Alex hurried down it, not opening any other doors.  
The kitchen was empty, too. Alex opened the giant walk-in fridge and took a few pieces of pepperoni pizza from a box full of it. She ate it cold, not being able to find a microwave and not really caring.  
On her way out, she heard the kids again and remembered the trouble they were in. She knew that prisons had to let their prisoners out during fires and the cells automatically opened. She took out a cigarette lighter from the coat she had borrowed from her smoker dad and lit the area near the alarm. After a few minutes, it went off and Alex heard the deadbolts slide out of the doors. She ran away from the alarm. The truck was still outside, but she had no clue about driving. She got in it and shut the doors, hoping it was enough of a deterrent.  
It wasn't. Kids streamed out, looked at the doors, and banged on them.  
"Let me in!" one wailed.  
Alex turned the key that the boy had left in.

-OUTSIDE-

The barrier looked like a giant egg. Just hatch, Maria Bella Piaziarro thought. She hoped her daughter Sage would be okay. She had seen some of the footage of the original dome. How the kids had looked like animals.  
She was one of a large ring of people. Government employees bustled around, acting important with creased uniforms. Maria decided that there was only one thing to do. She missed and loved Sage.  
She hustled over to a bunch of the persistent officials. "Sir. Can you tell me when or if the barrier will come down."  
The official stared at her dumbly. "Ma'am, that is classified."  
Maria stalked over and stared at the barrier's grey wall. She kicked it as hard as she could. Her foot stung.  
Then Maria knelt down and prayed.


	6. Chapter Four

Carium ran. At first, he was trying to get out of the rooms. He was starving and surrounded by teenage girls. What could be worse?

Then he realized he was running from the crowd. Kids were screaming in pain and being trampled. The kids had became a mob of frothing, desperate, starving criminals. Carium could imagine it as adult murderers breaking out from prison that way, shoving and trampling, maybe murdering again.

Carium could barely stay ahead of them. He would have been crushed a long time ago if it wasn't for kids from the other cells getting in the path and tripping the leaders, which then tripped the next kids down.

Carium saw a hallway, open to t

he outside, and dove in it. He saw the kids trampling past. They took longer to pass Carium than he thought they would. He was unsure where the other kids had gone. Carium started backtracking. He thought the kitchens had been back, towards most of the cells. When he arrived in the kitchen, it was a mess. Kids were there, talking and goofing off and throwing handfuls of unidentifiable, stinky grey goop.

When Carium entered the room, they all stopped to stare at him. He blushed a little and opened up a fridge. He took out a piece of pizza and ate it. He was hit with the grey goop. The kid who had thrown it looked about nine and terrified.

"Sorry, man, not where I was aiming," the kid apologized.

Carium wiped the gray goop off his shirt and stalked out of the cafeteria. He entered one of the rooms and washed the shirt. He put on one of the spare clothes in the wardrobe, despite them identifying him as an inmate, and left.

* * *

Ethan's POV

Ethan slumped against the back of the small room. In the basement of the mayor's office was a makeshift jail that Ethan had gotten himself thrown in. He was in a small room with a locked door and boarded-up windows. The only source of light came from a small lightbulb. Ethan had only been in there for a day. He had gotten no food or water, and wished that if this was how he would die, they'd just do it already. He was starving and his mouth was dry.

Ethan kicked the concrete wall, frustrated. His leg protested with pain.

"Damn you! Damn you, dictators!"

Ethan heard a whimper from the room next to his. "Who's there?" he called, unsure.

"Me." It was a little kid, no more than seven or eight, Ethan figured.

"What's your name?" Ethan tried to make his voice sound soft and soothing.

"Colby."

"How long have you been in here, Colby?"

"For a few hours. I miss my mommy and my big brother."

"Colby, we'll get out of this, don't you worry."

But will we? Ethan wondered. He doubted it. This was his own, private, stinking hellhole.

Ethan leaned back against the wall and waited for something to happen.

Sooner than he expected, Ethan got his wish. A guard came in, carrying a device that looked like a hair dryer to Ethan.

"What is that?" Colby asked from the cell next to Ethan.

"I don't know," Ethan said.

"Prisoners, this is an experimental gun. If you use any mutations, I will pull the trigger myself."

Ethan noticed that there was no trigger, just an ON switch.

"You mean the switch?" Ethan asked.

The guard just scowled. "Prisoner, I don't think you'll care what it is when it kills you."

"You mean the switch will kill me? Wow, powerful."

The guard scowled. "Want to test it out?"

Ethan glanced at the hair dryer the guard was threatening him with. He looked at the terrified kid next to him. He looked at the thirteen-year-old threatening him with dry hair.

And Ethan laughed at him. The guard, instead of pulling the switch, went red and charged at the cell. The door was locked, since his captives at least knew the difference between a locked door and an unlocked one, and the guard's mass didn't make the door give in. It did scare Ethan, having a huge thirteen-year-old charge at him, but he knew to not show it.

"Want to test it out?" Ethan repeated. "Sure."

The guard growled and stalked out of the room, trying to keep his shreds of dignity intact, And ethan would have shouted catcalls at him if his stomach hadn't protested at that very moment.

Ethan yelled through the bars. "Hey! Why not kill us before we starve to death, huh?"

Colby chose that moment to whimper. "Are we really gonna die?"

"No, of course not. It'll all be fine." But Ethan couldn't even fool himself. They would die. If not here, then in a battle, or from mutated animals, or from starvation and dehydration, or from something Ethan couldn't think of. But Ethan was pretty sure they would die. He was normally a pessimist, but here, it seemed like saying they would live would be absurd. So maybe it wasn't pessimism, just looking at the facts.

"You sure, Ethan?" Colby asked.

Ethan opened his mouth to reassure the kid, but that wasn't what came out. Instead, he cursed out the guards.

"Ethan?" Colby asked, "Are you okay?"

Ethan took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm fine." He sank back against the wall, tears flowing down his face as he curled up into a ball and tried to muffle his sobs.

Fine. Totally.

* * *

Kara's POV

Kara stood in a broom closet as the last few stragglers ran past her. She had hid there from a while, long enough to not get trampled and killed. The halls were almost, but there were a few bodies lying in the hallways.

Dead. The thought nauseated Kara. She knew that she should burn them, help the others, just like Sam Temple had, But Kara was no Sam Temple, no here. She didn't know what to do. If Drake Merwin came at her, she would run and scream, even if it killed someone else.

Had she really just thought that? Even the idea of killing someone else made Kara hate herself. But, she thought, if it came down to it, would she?

Yeah. She would. The idea disgusted Kara, but then and again, who would give their life so someone else could live?

Kara headed towards the exit. She stopped before she could enter the disgustingly bright lobby. She could hear loud voices and yelling up ahead. She stopped and waited for them to die down, but they stayed there. Her hand tested the door handle, but it was locked.

"Sorry, sweetie, going somewhere?" a deep boy's voice asked. Kara didn't recognize it, but enough boys had teased her for her to know it was one of them.

"Unlock the door." Even to herself, Kara just sounded tired and unhappy.

"Make me." Wouldn't they give her a break? Kara wanted to yell and make them stop.

"Move away from the door." There. She had warned them.

Kara held out her hand and fired. A white-hot laser penetrated the door, and she heard startled screams as she carved a hole in the door. She killed the light and kicked the door. It fell forwards and she walked forwards and up the stairs past the gaping bullies.

Well, one thing was certain. Everyone in the giant fishtank would know Kara was the nes Sam, or at least, they would make that connection. And then Kara realized that they would also make the connection to leadership. And Kara had no idea how to run things. They would all die immediately. Well, maybe they could hold on for a little bit, but it wouldn't be good.

As Kara emerged in the lobby, she found the fancy decor ruined. Groups of kids lurked in the lobby, and the curtains were ripped off. The furniture was out-of-place and tipped over. The flooring was muddy and the paintings were broken. And the kids had only had the place for twenty minutes. It would be wrecked in the next days, weeks, and months.

She headed out the doors onto the mountain. The street leading to town was covered in refugees heading down, and Kara joined the crowd. She hurried into the thick of it and let the conversations watch over you.

"Do you think there'll be enough to eat?"

"Yeah, probably, with all the stores."

"You sure?"

"We'll be fine."

Kara doubted that.

"Who'll be in charge?"

"Probably nobody."

"You think we can be?"

"Maybe."

"What should I say to the kids?"

Kara only wished that nobody would be in charge. That would be too much to hope for.

As Kara headed towards the town, she watched all of the kids. They were all headed for the meat grinder, every one of them. But how many of them would see the next day.

Kara hoped she would.


End file.
